Cry From the Heart
by JeffC FTW
Summary: The greatest agony of all is being close until they send you away for your protection. What happens when your greatest fear comes alive, and that is the fear of loss? Weyoun/Keevan


**This might be the last in the line of Weyoun and Keevan, but you never know if more will come, but for the oneshot series, this concludes. It's very angsty, inspired by the song "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts, one of my favorite groups. Takes place near the end of the Dominion War and after, without giving away spoilers.**

 **I originally had it as the same name as the song, but then I remembered at the end of my last one, Rainstorm, that this will be called "Cry From the Heart", so I changed the title altogether.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own DS9.**

For the last couple of weeks, he had been confined to bed rest as planned, unable to move or feel a thing in his arms and legs, just being fed like a child by a maid available. Eris could do the deed if she wasn't busy all the time, and Keevan could never keep her from that. He hated being inactive; he used to enjoy being active, but now this domineering infant in his womb had taken over every part of him.

Hunger was unbearable by the time the second month had begun, and he felt so bloated it wasn't even funny. He thought he would grow fat by the time the month was over, even before the baby was born. The last three months weighed heavily on him. Eris had been there, watching over him and protecting him and the child like she promised Weyoun she would. She had helped Keevan set up the baby's room in his quarters, gathered all the needed necessities for the child, from food to toys and clothes...

...but none of it felt right without one person who was supposed to be there.

 _I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house_  
 _That don't bother me_  
 _I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out_  
 _I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while_  
 _Even though going on with you gone still upsets me_  
 _There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay_  
 _But that's not what gets me_

Each day that passed when he looked out the window and saw the rain fall, pelt against the windows and sometimes soaked his skin during the first couple of months, Keevan shivered and cradled his growing stomach as he thought of his beloved and this one's father. _Weyoun...you're supposed to be here,_ he would often send to him through their strong bond. He kept his hopes high that the ambassador would come to him once the fighting was over and the Federation crushed. With the Breen beside them, they improved their chances, and Keevan had been keeping track of everything going on.

They reclaimed Chin'toka, but the Cardassians were uprising against them, resisting, thinking they could rebel along with the traitorous Damar. Keevan and Eris saw the broadcast spread across the quadrant, saying the Dominion never kept their word and conquered them in their own land without firing a phaser blast.

That was not all: the cloning facilities on Rondac III had been _destroyed._ Which meant that Weyoun was the last, and that could mean only one thing if something happened to him: he could lose him permanently.

He remembered moaning in pain when he felt a muscle clench in his abdomen, a sign that he needed to lie down soon, which Eris had noticed herself. He leaned against her, loving the feel of her against him as he had not had anyone hold him for months. He missed his lover, missed his touch and kisses, the roll of his name off his tongue...

He felt like he was dying each day that Weyoun was not here.

"Oh, Weyoun," he would sob each night before he succumbed to sleep. "You should be here."

To look down as he caressed the firm round belly made it hurt even more. He could not do this by himself, even though Eris was here. The child deserved its father here. What was Keevan going to tell it if he lost Weyoun before...?

Just a few days before the Dominion War drew to a close, Keevan's pains in the groin began, and this was it.

It was Eris beside him as he suffered the stretching and tearing of muscles, bleeding heavily and screaming like he was being cursed - his ears hurt as well as his heart did. This wasn't right; it was NOT right! He was not supposed to give birth when Weyoun wasn't here. If only this damned war never happened, if only life wasn't so cruel, if only the Founders didn't enslave them...if only Weyoun, Keevan and their baby could live in peace.

"Alright, one more - PUSH!"

His last scream just about made his eardrums explode all because his body felt like it was torn apart like an old worn piece of clothing. He was hardly aware of anything other than the feel and smell of Eris beside him, assuring him he was all right and that it was done. He choked and sobbed as his body's pains remained while her hand soothingly massaged his arm and shoulder to try and calm him down.

"Look, Keevan," the midwife said soothingly, holding up the grunting and crying blessing in her arms, up before him. "Look at her."

 _Her...it's a girl._

Keevan finally forced his eyes opened and looked through his foggy vision. The baby was in perfect condition, eyes opened and matching his. They were the same shade of lilac as all Vorta had. "My b-baby," he whispered, reaching out to caress her forehead. "She's beautiful."

And already he had the name for her. He and Weyoun never discussed a name, but this one he knew was perfect because his lover would agree with him. "I'm going to name her...Jiaya. It means 'cleverest one'."

He wanted to hold his daughter, but he felt weak from the loss of blood. His groin and abdominal muscles still ached, and his internal hemorrhaging needed to be stopped at once. He was placed under the effects of the hypospray and knew he would wake up a better man...or so he hoped. His daughter would be the first thing he would wake up to. And Eris holding her.

When he awoke a few hours later, he was still in bed, but the sheets removed and placed with clean ones. He'd been cleansed himself, dressed in fresh bedclothes, and the smell of lilacs in the air. His senses even picked up the faint sounds of cooing and grunting. The baby was somewhere in his quarters. Perhaps Eris was here, maybe not, but the nursemaid herself had to be here. He was tempted to rise but felt he was in no condition to do so; he loathed being patronized into lying back down himself, so he couldn't take the chance.

"You're awake."

The nursemaid herself had come in, smiling sweetly at him. Her name was Niuan, and she was Vorta, like himself; not all Vorta were made to be field agents and diplomats, even doctors. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"Tired," Keevan replied, turning his face away from her. "How's my baby?"

"Jiaya is very healthy, but so impatient," she said with a laugh. "I think she's been wanting to see you. Oh, and your prognosis from the doctors - your internal bleeding is stopped and the tearing repaired. You're going to be all right yourself."

"How reassuring. Any...news I should know of?" he asked, very bored. "I could use some after being unconscious instead of waking up to nothing exciting at all."

She gulped nervously. "Well, t-there is something, but you're not going to like this. The doctor says you shouldn't hear this until you are well..."

Keevan snapped his eyes back in her direction. "Tell me," he ordered. Whatever it was, if it had to do with the war...

"The war is over, but the Dominion surrendered."

"Eris!" She stood there in the door to his bedroom, holding a soft bundle in her arms and advancing their way, somber etched across her features. He felt intense joy seeing Jiaya brought to him and couldn't wait to hold her for the first time, but then hearing her words... "W-we lost?" he repeated softly, feeling himself tear inside even when she elaborated. The Founder gave up, the treaty of peace signed, the Federation winning and Cardassia all but destroyed with its hundreds of millions dominated population exterminated - save for small numbers left to try and pick up the pieces to start over. He'd estimate they'd be extinct in years to come.

It was the last bit of news that made him crack down and howl in grief, causing Eris with the baby and Niuan to step back, and the doctors to rush in to help him, inject him with more hypospray and leave him sedated until he calmed down. But he would never be calm, ever.

Weyoun was dead.

He had been shot and killed by Garak, in front of the Founder and with Colonel Kira Nerys beside him. The Female Changeling had stated, "I really wish you hadn't done that. That was Weyoun's last clone."

Keevan had not seen Weyoun since he sent him into hiding with Eris who had transferred from Cardassia Prime. They could not contact because the Founder herself could very much find out. He and his lover might have been linked mentally and physically, but what hurt the most in the happy years they shared was being so close until he became pregnant and was sent away for protection.

 _What hurts the most_  
 _Was being so close_  
 _And having so much to say_  
 _And watching you walk away_  
 _And never knowing_  
 _What could have been_  
 _And not seeing that loving you_  
 _Is what I was tryin' to do_

Holding his Jiaya in his arms was comfort and bliss, but it wasn't whole because her father was no longer with them. This face of pure innocence and happiness made Keevan - her blend of mother and father - want to protect her. His worst fears, however, came alive when he lost the love of his life. Weyoun was not supposed to leave them, at all. He was supposed to be here and holding his daughter like Keevan was now. But now he had Eris beside him, his only remaining real friend even though they were free to return to Kurill Prime.

Life had been difficult upon returning home. When he arrived, he and his baby were hit like a sensation that he was the first Vorta to naturally reproduce, and Jiaya was allowed to be his to raise until she was old enough to be in service to the Dominion. But Keevan rejected the notion.

"I will not let her be taken from me to serve these false gods," he swore to Eris when they were alone. She moved in with him and Jiaya after returning to the paradise that was Kurill Prime. "It's bad enough I lost Weyoun that I can't bear to lose her, too."

 _It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go_  
 _But I'm doin' It_  
 _It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone_  
 _Still harder_  
 _Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret_  
 _But I know if I could do it over_  
 _I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart_  
 _That I left unspoken_

"But Keevan, it's the job of a Vorta!" she insisted. "It's a great honor to the Founders. It's never finished unless our lines are ever terminated at their order."

"Because I lost Weyoun, and there's always a chance Jiaya will be taken from me, too!" he exploded. "I'm finished serving the Founders; they can always take my own life for all I care! I'd rather die now than betray my daughter! How ironic that I kept myself alive as a promise to her father and for her, to see she had me to look out for her and guide her. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

The fighting between their people and the Federation was over, and here they were fighting over Jiaya's future. Why were they? He'd lost Weyoun several months ago and could not bear to lose his daughter. Keevan, heartbroken and hurt to his core that his dearest friend agreed with allowing Jiaya to grow up only to be ripped from him when she reached a certain age, turned and stalked away from her.

He looked her over when he stood beside her little bed, customized especially for her. She was so precious that this kind of life should NEVER be taken for granted. He smiled softly as he reached down and caressed her soft forehead, smoothing the soft curls from over her head. With a little sigh, she squirmed away from his touch to continue her nap. Not that he ever intended to. Chuckling and shaking his head, Keevan withdrew his hand and turned to leave when he froze immediately on the spot.

"She's beautiful. Our daughter."

He stood rigid as he looked the other person square in the eye. "Weyoun."

He was alive...he was ALIVE. But how? "Keevan, my love," the ambassador breathed, bowing his head and starting his way, but something inside Keevan snapped that he backed away.

"How are you alive?" he demanded, keeping his voice low and not wanting to wake Jiaya. "Don't touch me. You tell me right now."

"I'm so sorry. I regret doing this to you both. Apparently there was a copy of my DNA template here in the Gamma Quadrant. I'm number nine."

"I gathered," the young Vorta said angrily. "But why? All these months I was left thinking I would never see you again, that Jiaya would grow up without her father..."

"And I never intended to do it!" Weyoun exploded, his voice almost waking the baby until Keevan shushed him and then forced them outside the room and in time for Eris to announce her presence.

"By the gods, Weyoun, what are you doing here?! You have any idea what you did to all of us?! You could have made your presence known a long time ago -"

"I was getting there, but would the both of you let me finish?" he snapped before calming down. "Odo was the one to oversee my...reproduction. He was helping me. Thought it best if all Vorta learn to think for themselves, question their leaders and not just blindly follow their tails."

Keevan was still angry and heartbroken for leaving him and their daughter alone the last several months, thinking it was permanent and he was almost being forced to permanently let him go, but then he mentioned Odo taking charge and - "You mean to say he's...ushering our people into a new era? We'll no longer be under the reign of the Changelings?"

"Yes. Which means we will be able to appreciate anything artistic, have better eyesight...just think of the possibilities!" Weyoun said delightfully, taking both his hands into his own, never mind Keevan didn't want his touch. But his anger was forgotten altogether. He was now reminiscing the possible brighter hope of the future for all Vorta, himself and Jiaya included. Did that mean he could stop worrying about her being taken from them?

"Well, I'll be damned," Eris said, although she still seemed doubtful. "And I was thinking you did it purposefully."

"If you don't mind, I'd love to be alone with my mate," Weyoun said, and Keevan agreed. They had been apart for a lifetime that he wanted to throw himself at the other. "Keevan, please forgive me for this. I wanted to come back a long time ago, but Odo needed me. He's a good man who helped me see the light. We're all going to be a free people soon, and I'll lead the way. I want you by my side, and for our daughter to know we all did the right thing. So, all I ask is that you take me back."

"I've always wanted you back," Keevan said softly, leaning up and accepting a kiss from him. "Now, will you make love to me and show me how much you missed me?"

They were soon back in the bed they shared, unclothed before each other once more, but then one certain factor had Keevan covering himself. His stomach was no longer firm ever since he was pregnant and never returned to its original state after giving birth to Jiaya. A line ran down the middle of the meaty sides, marking it as imperfect compared to the rest of his body. That was the only part of him that Weyoun noticed had changed, but he smiled and leaned down to kiss and run his tongue down, making Keevan sigh pleasantly, his self-consciousness back in place and welcoming his lover home.

 **One of my fics, "Bound to the Vorta", as well as a favorite "All my lives torn asunder" by Noneworking had Odo helping Weyoun become independent and leading his people to freedom. :) It's also normal for a woman's stomach to not go back to normal after giving birth, but sometimes it does. You just never know. Anyway, I had the pleasure of doing this couple with help from others.**


End file.
